Page 4A
OPINION
East Oregonian
Friday, October 14, 2016
OTHER VIEWS
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Publisher
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
TIM TRAINOR
Opinion Page Editor
MARISSA WILLIAMS
Regional Advertising Director
MARCY ROSENBERG
Circulation Manager
JANNA HEIMGARTNER
Business Ofice Manager
MIKE JENSEN
Production Manager
OUR VIEW
Tip of the hat;
kick in the pants
A tip of the hat to the Hermiston warming shelter, for working to
stretch its current limits and be open nightly throughout the winter.
The presence of a warming shelter, a safe and secure place for the area’s
homeless to sleep, is important for an area
where options are thin and winter weather
can be fatal.
The shelter’s new location is at 1075
S. Highway 395, and can operate nightly
through February, but volunteers are
needed to help staff the expanded hours.
To volunteer, irst attend a training session
Oct. 17 from 6-9 p.m. at the First United
Methodist Church or Oct. 21 from 6-9
p.m. at the Crossroads Community Church
in Stanield.
And don’t forget about the Pendleton
warming station, either. Volunteers worthy of tips of the hat help keep it
operational too. Orientations are scheduled for Oct. 22 at 9 a.m. and Oct. 26
at 6:30 p.m. at the Nazarene Church on Hailey Ave.
Those who attend, and follow through by volunteering their time, help
save lives and make their communities better.
A tip of the hat to Bob Dylan, the irst American to win the Nobel Prize
in Literature since 1993, and the irst “musician” to do so.
It’s easy to ind fans of Dylan in any group of writers, and our staff is no
exception. Here are a few fawning words about a literary hero:
“Hurricane” is the irst Bob Dylan song I remember hearing. This ballad
of injustice with an amazing violin in the background fascinated me. So
much better than all the Bee Gees disco
that was popular then. — Kathryn Brown,
publisher
Some protest songs only live as long
as their movement, but “Subterranean
Homesick Blues” is it for any revolution.
Through four rambling verses without
a chorus, Dylan introduces a cast of
frustrated, confused, suspecting and
suspicious characters out of step from the
mainstream. Favorite line: “You don’t need
a weather man to know which way the wind
blows.” — Daniel Wattenburger, managing editor
Ominous and drenched in Southern Gothic imagery, “The Man In The
Long Black Coat” is Dylan’s spooky reworking of Hank Williams’ “Alone
And Forsaken.” Like many Dylan songs, its interpretation is ultimately left
to the listener: Is it a tale of temptation and inidelity, an allegory on death, a
statement on the inherently sinful nature of man? Perhaps all three. — J.D.
Kindle, entertainment columnist
Dylan is the American of the 20th century, and that he’s still having such
an effect in the 21st is a tribute to his remarkable ability to reinvent himself
and his art. His life’s work has allowed poetry to ind its way to more ears —
and allowed more poets to make a living, provided they learn to play guitar.
Listen to “Most Of The Time” for the Hemingway-esque mystery of things
not said, or “When I Paint My Masterpiece” for the true yearnings of a
real, if comic, artist. — Tim Trainor, opinion page editor/deputy managing
editor
Bob Dylan is the reason my husband and I got together. While in college,
John heard I had some Dylan albums and came to my house to see them.
Then he married me and took my collection. A friend sang “Covenant
Women” at our wedding. My signature column, “Inside my shoes,” comes
from lyrics near the end of “Positively 4th Street.” Like Dylan, I have a bit
of a sarcastic sense of humor. — Tammy Malgesini, community editor
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of Publisher
Kathryn Brown, Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, and Opinion Page Editor Tim Trainor.
Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not
necessarily that of the East Oregonian.
LETTERS POLICY
The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public
issues and public policies for publication. Send letters to 211 S.E. Byers Ave.
Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
What Trump is right about
A
So I’m delighted that at least one
stonishingly, Donald Trump is
person, Billy Bush, is paying in a
right about something!
concrete way for the words in the
After recently being caught
Trump tape. Maybe this can be a
on a 2005 tape gloating about sexual
wake-up call for us men to appreciate
assaults, Trump issued an unapologetic
that sexist epithets are no more
apology in which he focused on the
acceptable than racist epithets.
“big difference” between words and
All that said, Trump is right to
actions. And he has a point.
But there’s abundant evidence
Nicholas emphasize the importance of actions
that Trump has indulged in not just
Kristof more than words: If we’re outraged by
scurrilous rhetoric, but also in heinous
vulgar words, shouldn’t we be even
Comment
actions. Several more women have
more appalled by predatory actions?
stepped forward to offer on-the-record
And policies? Here the truth is that a
accounts of having been aggressively groped
Trump administration’s policies might be less
or kissed by Trump against their will, right
titillating than his words, but they would be far
after he met them.
more dangerous.
I also ind entirely credible the allegations
Every year, 550,000 women in America
of Jill Harth, a former business partner of
require medical attention after an assault by a
Trump’s, that he assaulted her in 1992 and
boyfriend or husband. That’s an issue that is
1993. Equally credible is the assertion by a
belatedly being addressed through screenings
former Miss Utah that Trump inappropriately
under Obamacare, which Trump wants to
kissed beauty contestants on the lips.
repeal, and by the Violence Against Women
Some Republicans have demanded laws
Act, which a large bloc of Republicans
to ban transgender women from entering
opposed in Congress. Trump’s concern about
women’s restrooms or locker rooms, but
such assaults seems dubious, and in fact both
instead they might focus on the risk of Trump
he and his campaign CEO, Steve Bannon,
doing this. He has boasted that he marched
have been accused of domestic violence
unannounced into changing rooms to ogle
themselves.
beauty pageant contestants naked, and a
Since he never held public ofice, Trump
former contestant, Miss Arizona, Tasha Dixon, lacks a voting record. But his running mate
said he did just that as they were changing into has tended to look at what might help women
bikinis. “Some girls were topless,” she said.
and do the opposite, including voting against
“Other girls were naked.”
equal-pay legislation.
The pageant theme that year? Empowering
Mike Pence also signed a bizarre anti-
women.
abortion bill as Indiana’s governor requiring
There’s more. In Trump’s 2005 tape, he
burial or cremation even of tissue from an
referred in vulgar ways to a married woman,
early miscarriage. That led women to form
Nancy O’Dell, he had unsuccessfully pursued, a Facebook group, Periods for Pence, and
but what’s less known is that in 2007 he
announce their periods, just in case they might
reportedly tried to have her ired from hosting
be miscarriages.
the Miss USA Pageant. Why? Because she
At a time when 11 women a day die of
was pregnant.
cervical cancer, Trump and Pence have also
Of course, as Trump acknowledged, words been stalwart opponents of women’s health
matter as well. On my blog, I posted an essay
programs that provide cancer screenings.
by a survivor of a home invasion and rape,
They are motivated partly by hostility toward
Michelle Bowdler, who recounted that her
Planned Parenthood over abortions, but
attacker had said he wanted “some pussy” —
Pence, while a congressman, also sponsored
and the moment he used that word, she felt
legislation to defund Title X, the main federal
that her life was in danger, that she “existed
family planning program. It does not pay
only as a thing.”
for abortions but does help screen more than
What is dehumanizing is not necessarily
750,000 women for cervical cancer a year.
dirty words as such, but rather the casual
New York magazine once quoted Trump
braggadocio by men that normalizes assault.
as telling a friend about women, “you have
One study of 16,000 comments on a website
to treat ‘em like ——” well, manure. But to
for fraternity men found that the most
me, his language pales beside his behavior
common body part mentioned was “ass,”
and likely policies. So let’s try to pivot from
followed by “tits.” Men posting on the site
outrage at gross words to condemnation of
were 25 times as likely to refer to a woman’s
unconscionable behavior and policies. On
“ass” as to her “smile.”
that sole point, that actions matter more than
There’s some evidence that hearing sexist
words, Trump is exactly, frighteningly right.
language may be linked to greater tolerance
■
of rape. And we have a national problem with
Nicholas Kristof grew up on a sheep and
sexual harassment: One large survey found
cherry farm in Yamhill. A columnist for The
that almost one-quarter of American women
New York Times since 2001 he won the
said they had been groped in public spaces.
Pulitzer Prize two times, in 1990 and 2006.
YOUR VIEWS
Support Umatilla
schools bond
I am writing in support of the
Umatilla School District bond
measure on the November ballot.
This bond will allow the district
to make needed improvements
at all three schools in Umatilla
— McNary Elementary, Clara
Brownell Middle School and
Umatilla High School.
The city of Umatilla is located
at the conluence of the Umatilla
and Columbia rivers, and is a
natural transportation hub located
near the river, the railroad and two
interstate highways.
While our economic base has
primarily been agricultural in the
past, we are seeing more diversity
these days due, in part, to our
proximity to transportation.
Educating students in this busy
area is the job of the Umatilla
School District. The school
district’s purpose is to provide
students with a top quality public
education so that they may become
successful, contributing citizens of
the future — a goal shared by the
Umatilla community as a whole.
The collaborative relationship
between the district and the
community are evident in the
residents and businesses that
support many programs and
projects at our schools throughout
the year.
Now, the Umatilla community
has the opportunity to again
support our school district by
voting yes for the upcoming school
bond on the November ballot. The
school district is asking for $10.5
million to fund important capital
improvements at all three district
schools.
If the bond passes, the district
will receive an additional $4
million from the state, for a total of
$14.5 million. This is a wonderful
opportunity for our community
to pay $10.5 million, but receive
$14.5 million for district projects.
We don’t know if or when this
chance will come up again from
the state.
The proposed bond will not
increase taxes for Umatilla citizens;
the new bonds are estimated to
continue the same tax rate of the
current bonds, for a longer period
of time.
The city of Umatilla is proud
to be on ongoing partner with the
Umatilla School District in the
education of Umatilla’s students.
I encourage the Umatilla
community to vote yes on
this school bond — to protect
our students, to protect our
educational investments and send
a clear message that the Umatilla
community is dedicated to quality
education.
Dave Trott,
mayor, Umatilla
Ignore accusations,
focus on the issues
It’s been an active week for
politics!
A morally disgusting
11-year-old tape of Trump surfaces;
now other allegations arise. The
email dump exposes that Clinton
wants open borders and supports
the banking industry. The second
presidential debate was the irst
time in either Clinton political
career where they were nationally
called on the carpet for their abuse
and smearing and ruining the lives
of women. Then collusion between
the Clinton campaign and several
big news agencies, the White
House, the FBI, and the Justice
Dept. are found in the email dump.
The Democrats are being
self-righteous about the “locker
room” talk tape. They are proud to
promote options in moral behavior
and take large sums of money from
Hollywood where one morally
degenerate movie is made after
another.
This is extreme hypocrisy. They
are the party of Bill Clinton, Ted
Kennedy and John F. Kennedy,
extreme philanderers and, at times,
sexual predators.
Obviously, neither Clinton nor
Trump is a perfect candidate. So it
comes down to issues, leadership,
and who will choose Supreme
Court justices.
Washington, D.C., needs a good
shakeup.
An incomplete list of what needs
to be ixed includes: disrespect for
law and order, laws and common
sense not used with the illegal
alien situation, forests mismanaged
resulting in loss of homes and
livelihoods, the Obamacare iasco,
terrorism spreading, disrespect for
religious freedom, reduced freedom
of speech (political correctness),
extreme carbon related regulations
stiling jobs and the economy,
regulations diminishing business
opportunities and jobs, a mentality
of dependency as opposed to
individual responsibility and
potential, and an unconscionable
national debt.
These are all issues Clinton
will carry on as the status quo or
worse. Trump has solid plans laid
out to address these issues and
make signiicant improvements.
Trump will nominate Supreme
Court justices that will uphold the
Constitution as it was intended.
You may say, “I can’t vote for
either one. They are just awful.”
But one of them is going to be
President of the United States and
make decisions that affect you. If
you don’t vote or vote by writing in
a moral and honest person, you are
letting others decide between these
vastly different candidates.
No doubt more will come out
before the election to try to hijack
the voters with distractions instead
of focusing on the issues. I just
say “Let ‘er Buck,” and hang onto
those issues.
Garnet Olson
Pendleton
Re-elect Rowan
for county sheriff
I am writing to express my
support for the re-election
of Terry Rowan as sheriff of
Umatilla County.
I have known Terry for
about 25 years and have always
found him to be concerned, but
balanced, in his approach to law
enforcement. He has good ideas
and has the skills to be an effective
people manager, which helps him
accomplish his goals.
The sheriff’s department looks
a lot different than if did four years
ago. Patrol time is up, as is the
utilization of the jail. To me, that
means a safer county.
His peers evidently agree. The
Oregon Sheriff’s Association elected
him “Commander of the Year.” So
do his fellow sheriff’s department
employees — their bargaining unit
voted to endorse his re-election.
Keep up the great work Terry!
Please join me in voting for
Rowan for sheriff.
Tim Mabry
Hermiston